Marni Soupcoff: Finally, some peace for the family of Albert Chretien — a brave and determined man

Finally, peace for the family of Albert Chretien — a brave, strong man

A pair of elk hunters found the remains of Canadian Albert Chretien in a remote part of Nevada called Merritt Mountain on Saturday. The man had been missing for nearly a year and a half.

Mr. Chretien and his wife, Rita Chretien, became lost while driving in the Nevada wilderness in March 2011. They were making their way on what should have been an uneventful journey from their home in Penticton, B.C., to a trade show in Las Vegas. But their new GPS device led them onto a back road in the mountains, where their van eventually became stuck in the muck. Rita stayed in the van, while Albert set off on foot to seek help.

Seven weeks later, in May 2011, Rita was rescued. She’d survived the 49 long days by eating trail mix, hard candy and melted snow.

But there was no sign of Al. Countless searches were launched, cadaver dogs were dispatched and ATVs, horses and airplanes were all used in an effort to locate the missing Canadian.

Still, it wasn’t until this past weekend that his body was finally discovered, about 11 km from where he’d left Rita and the safety of the van. It’s extraordinary that he got that far. The weather was hostile — cold and snowy — and the terrain incredibly difficult, with a lot of rocks and a steep incline. He may not have known it, but he was navigating a 2,672-metre mountain.

Could Albert have made it to help if things had been just a little different?

It does no particular good to speculate, but there is something especially poignant about the story because it seems that Albert did come close. He was about 10 km from the nearest town when he died. Had the battery of the GPS he carried with him not run out — the very same GPS that had already failed him and Rita by sending them down a barely passable logging road — he probably would have taken a more direct path toward town. Had that happened, he wouldn’t have had to climb as much as he did. (The CBC reports that he ascended 600 metres in the snow.) Maybe the saved energy and time would have made all the difference.

It is always tempting to look for lessons that can be learned from tragedies, and we can certainly try do that here.

— Use common sense and, when you’re in a new place, don’t follow GPS instructions that are taking you on a route your eyes or ears are telling you seems strange or dangerous — or even just off the beaten path. (Rita’s pastor told the Canadian Press that Rita described how she and Albert ended up on the remote road this way: “When we first went off the road, we thought it would just be a short road and we’d be back to the main road right away. The next thing we know we turned down the wrong road and we were where we shouldn’t be and it’s dark and we can’t find a way to turn around.”)

— Keep a sizable stash of energy bars and bottled water in the car at all times, but particularly on long road trips.

— GPS devices can get you into trouble but they can also get you out of it, so always keep them fully charged.

Still, what happened to Albert and Rita Chretien was, in the main, a freak occurrence. Its most important lessons to impart could be simply the fine examples of character and determination set by the unfortunate couple. It required a great deal of faith, cleverness and optimism for Rita to stay alive and sane while living alone in a van for 49 days with barely enough food to sustain herself. (She parceled out what little trail mix she had, and consumed one spoonful each day.) And it took an incredible amount of courage and strength (both mental and physical) for Albert to set out alone in the wilderness and hike 11 km around a snowy mountain in an effort to fetch help for his wife.

Both Chretiens displayed admirable and unusual grit and confidence. Sadly it wasn’t enough to save Albert. But we can hope that finally being able to formally lay Albert to rest will at least allow Rita to experience some newfound peace.

In the wake of a Grammy Awards ceremony that disappointed many, from Kanye West to the masses on Twitter lamenting the state of pop music, a historical perspective is key. Few are better poised to offer one than Andy Kim.